{"id":99,"date":"2012-10-19T11:30:39","date_gmt":"2012-10-19T11:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/?p=99"},"modified":"2017-11-11T19:54:44","modified_gmt":"2017-11-11T19:54:44","slug":"framing-and-why-that-debate-was-so-bad-for-obama-republicans-on-drugs-and-still-the-best-study-ever-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/?p=99","title":{"rendered":"Framing and Why That Debate Was So Bad for Obama,  Republicans on Drugs and Still the Best Study Ever ?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Framing: see this by Lakoff, and Frameworks Institute link below<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Idea Framing, Metaphors, and Your Brain - George Lakoff\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S_CWBjyIERY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Obama Dismays Followers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After the first televised debate of the US Presidential election, Republicans were cock-a-hoop and Democrats frustrated and despondent.\u00a0 Most people watching thought Obama had lost to Romney and a slew of analysis identified reasons for this, nearly all to do with his demeanour, visual bodily signals and his \u2018failure\u2019 to use iconic \u2018facts\u2019 such as the \u201847%\u2019 (Romney\u2019s dismissal of 47% of the electorate as government-dependent \u2018victims\u2019) in his arguments.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It largely remains a <a href=\"http:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2012\/10\/04\/politics\/debate-fumble\/index.html\">puzzle<\/a> why Obama took the approach he did.\u00a0 Given the huge amount of American political coaching to the effect that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2012\/10\/02\/us\/politics\/what-romney-and-obamas-body-language-says-to-voters.html?hp\">visual cues<\/a> are much more important than what you say, it seems bizarre.\u00a0 For example PR advisers like Burson-Marsteller routinely advise their clients that in interviews, the attention span of the average viewer or listener is only 20 seconds, they recall just 7% of the interview, and are influenced 7% by content, 30% by tone and 50% by body language.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s widely agreed that Obama did much better in the second debate but framing plays a large part in why Obama let himself down so badly in the first.\u00a0 The give-away was in the reactions of his own supporters immediately afterwards.\u00a0 There were choruses of \u201cwhy didn\u2019t he land that blow ?\u201d and other cries using the \u2018boxing match\u2019 frame.\u00a0 \u00a0Although some of the encounter was processed by what was said about \u2018issues\u2019, most of the viewers had long made up their minds beforehand who they would be voting for.\u00a0 The event was not a competition of ideas or policies to swing the \u2018undecided\u2019, more a test of whether \u2018our man\u2019 had the vigour, enthusiasm and virility, to go the distance as President.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As commentator Van Jones said of the second debate<strong>: <\/strong><strong>\u201c<\/strong>There are two main things people are looking for during these debates: Are you a strong leader, and are you on my side?\u201d.\u00a0 In debate one, in effec the \u201cweigh-in\u201d for the actual match, Obama didn\u2019t seem up for the fight and it was his own side who felt the greatest pain.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Reframing Drugs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A very different but also American example of the importance of framing is the case of Drugs Judge, the remarkable<a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2012\/sep\/30\/robert-francis-texas-judge-jails\"> Robert Francis<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0A Texan Republican with cowboy boots and hunting trophies adorning his office, in values terms Francis has all the visual trappings of a traditionally minded <a href=\"http:\/\/documents.campaignstrategy.org\/uploads\/12vm_1_settlers.pdf\">Settler<\/a> or a Prospector <a href=\"http:\/\/documents.campaignstrategy.org\/uploads\/12vm_2_prospectors.pdf\">Golden Dreamer<\/a> who score high on<a href=\"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/GD-s-2.pdf\"> power over others<\/a> and could be expected to be \u2018hardline\u2019 on \u2018crime\u2019 and \u2018antisocial behaviour\u2019. \u00a0\u00a0Because of the historic polarisation of the \u2018drugs issue\u2019 in the US and some other countries, the expected \u2018right wing\u2019 approach has been zero tolerance, maximum punishment.\u00a0 The result has been a classic values conflict along the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.campaignstrategy.org\/articles\/int_values_campaign.pdf\">power versus univeralism<\/a> antagonism.\u00a0 As has been noted in previous Campaign Strategy Newsletters, much the same division has historically got in the way of effective responses to issues such as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.campaignstrategy.org\/whogivesastuff.pdf\">climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That at least is how Francis appears although Pat Dade tells me that he suspects Francis is actually a Republic <em>Texan<\/em> Pioneer <a href=\"http:\/\/documents.campaignstrategy.org\/uploads\/12valuesmodes_3_pioneers.pdf\">Transcender<\/a> (apparently being Texan means a lot but only understandable to Americans).\u00a0 Anyway, the interesting thing is how Francis has managed to almost completely reverse the default maximum-jail policy for drugs offenders and replace it with a recipe hitherto only promoted by universalist, social liberals (mostly Pioneers).\u00a0 \u00a0As an example, this has relevance for any campaigners seeking to re-frame an issue and lift it out of a values impasse.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>An article in <em>TheObserver<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2012\/sep\/30\/robert-francis-texas-judge-jails\">explains<\/a> what Francis has done.\u00a0 At the sharp-end his Dallas drugs court imposes onerous personal life-plan type prescriptions on offenders, while retaining the prospect of incarceration for re-offending or absconding.\u00a0 Offenders get counseling, housing or employment, and (and this is probably important) emotional encounters with Francis in his court room.\u00a0 They get praise and small incentives to succeed.\u00a0 Francis told journalist Ian Birrell &#8220;These people have to believe we care and want them to succeed &#8230; Once they believe in me they can start to change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As Birrell says, this is a \u2018revolution in justice\u2019 and it is sweeping the United States because Republicans have \u2018hardline conservatives who have declared prison a sign of state failure. They say it is an inefficient use of taxpayers&#8217; money when the same people, often damaged by drink, drugs, mental health problems or chaotic backgrounds, return there again and again.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here we have Settler values \u2013avoiding waste of money &#8211; \u00a0and Prospector pragmatism \u2013 \u2018do what works\u2019. \u00a0The theatre of the Court and the multiple restrictions apply \u2018power over others\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Birrell found:\u00a0 \u2018instead of building more prisons and jailing ever more people, Texas is now diverting funds to sophisticated rehabilitation programmes to reduce recidivism. Money has been poured into probation, parole and specialist services for addicts, the mentally ill, women and veterans. And it has worked: figures show even violent crime dropping at more than twice the national average, while cutting costs and reducing prison populations.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 The approach is spreading to Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and South Carolina, with the backing of conservatives such as \u00a0Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush, Bobby Jindal and Grover Norquis.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>How can such changes come about ?\u00a0 The back story of the change is important and it started with money.\u00a0 In 2006 Texas faced an election and the need, with \u2018War on Drugs\u2019 policies, to build $2bn new prisons.\u00a0 Republican Jerry Madden was asked to find another, cheaper solution.\u00a0\u00a0 A Tea-Party sympathizing G W Bush fan Madden had no interest in drugs but probably helpfully, he was an engineer.\u00a0 He studies evidence and found that locking up drugs offenders was not reducing the problem, and cost much more than more effective strategies. \u00a0Birrell notes: \u00a0\u00a0\u201cMadden looked at the numbers and took a\u00a0leap of faith. He went on the attack, using traditional right-wing arguments to subvert those seeking hardline penal policies. &#8220;We moved the issue from one of being soft on criminals to one of being smart over the use of money. If you are keeping people in prison who do not need to be there, then that is a waste of taxpayers&#8217; money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I spent several years working on UK Government drugs strategy communications, which are caught in a dysfunctional toggle between policy based on evidence of what-works, and politics playing to a media gallery of &#8220;what we&#8217;d like to work&#8221;: in my view the UK too is in need of a dose of the Texan medicine.<\/p>\n<p>Some lessons to achieve reframing out of a values stand-off:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find a frame that hits some values hot buttons for both groups but also crucially, for those \u2018in the middle\u2019 (in this case principally, cost and \u2018what works\u2019)<\/li>\n<li>Get the change sourced in and from the values base that needs to discard its previous frame<\/li>\n<li>Change as little of that frame as possible, eg by redefining it (here, discipline is shifted from being locked up to compliance with life-changes)<\/li>\n<li>Have a chain of key, in-control messengers who a critical mass of supporters of the old frame (here War on Drugs&gt;Lock them up) identify with \u2013 if Jerry Madden or Robert Francis had been well known social liberals this would not have worked<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Still the Best Study Ever ?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For all campaigners, great books to read on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=S_CWBjyIERY\">framing<\/a> remain George Lakoff\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books\/about\/The_Political_Mind.html?id=oUd7a9OUgtAC&amp;redir_esc=y\">The Political Mind<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=zbJ1oxHC9a0C&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=don%27t+think+of+an+elephant&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=xnP-qgnMPU&amp;sig=z04YW2xIUbOkgoaCBlHjw3kmVBA&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=STCBUMnGM4Kk0QXwz4G4BA&amp;ved=0CDEQ6wEwAA\">Don\u2019t Think of An Elephant<\/a> but comprehensive online research examples usable in training are harder to come by.\u00a0 It\u2019s also often hard to persuade budget holders that they need to do any research at all, so besotted do they become with their ideal \u2018message\u2019 (ie one in which the world agrees with them).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The best example I know is still the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.frameworksinstitute.org\/assets\/files\/PDF_FoodSystems\/How_to_Talk_food_Systems.pdf\">Frameworks Institute study<\/a> on the \u2018runaway food system\u2019.\u00a0 Conducted for campaigners wanting to engage the US public in thinking about the pros and cons of the \u2018food system\u2019, this study tested over forty frames before hitting upon the \u2018runaway\u2019 as the one that triggered effective engagement.\u00a0 The difference in audience responses shown before and after they were \u2018primed\u2019 with this metaframe (which replaces those otherwise dominant) is truly astonishing.\u00a0 The whole thing is still available in tutorial format <a href=\"http:\/\/www.frameworksinstitute.org\/workshops\/broccoli\/\">here<\/a> \u2013 the key interviews are near the middle but watch it all.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If you know of any other great online framing examples, please let me know\u00a0 <a href=\"mailto:chris@campaignstrategy.co.uk\">chris@campaignstrategy.co.uk<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Framing: see this by Lakoff, and Frameworks Institute link below Obama Dismays Followers &nbsp; After the first televised debate of the US Presidential election, Republicans were cock-a-hoop and Democrats frustrated and despondent.\u00a0 Most people watching thought Obama had lost to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/?p=99\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1678,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions\/1678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threeworlds.campaignstrategy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}